Road dates new to Diamond Dogs
Georgia coach David Perno thinks his team might have lost its chance at hosting an NCAA Regional about a month ago, when the Bulldogs were stuck in an eight-game losing streak.

Poythress a Golden Spikes semifinalist
Georgia first baseman Rich Poythress is one of 30 players named Tuesday as semifinalists for the Golden Spikes Award, given annually to the nation's top amateur baseball player by USA Baseball.

Guilty plea in minister's death
CLEVELAND — A 20-year-old man was sentenced to life in prison for killing a Northeast Georgia chaplain who gave him a ride home from a church in Pendergrass.

Woman dies of injuries from May 10 crash
A 40-year-old Athens woman died Wednesday from injuries she suffered when a sport utility vehicle ran a red light and collided with her car May 10 at U.S. Highway 78 and Robert Hardeman Road in southeastern Clarke County.

Comer man killed when car hits horse
A Comer man was killed Thursday when his car ran into a wandering horse on U.S. Highway 129 near Gainesville about half an hour before sunrise.

UGA softball falls in WCWS opener
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - After posting a pair of come-from-behind victories in the Super Regional last weekend, Georgia fell short of making the same late-inning magic reappear Thursday.

Pizza guy robbed of pie, his wallet
A pizza customer greeted the deliveryman with a gun and took more than the pizza Monday night at an apartment complex in North Athens, Athens-Clarke police said,

Home electronics taken in break-ins
Burglars kicked in the front door of a home in the 800 block of Gaines School Road between 8 and 10:45 p.m. Monday and stole a flat-screen TV and laptop computer valued at $1,800, Athens-Clarke police said.

Pendergrass man flees false accuser
A man in a gold minivan chased down and threatened a Pendergrass man he thought was fleeing the scene of a car crash last Thursday in Jefferson, according to Jackson County deputies.

Would-be car buyer mugged by group
A 46-year-old Athens man got mugged by a would-be car seller who took him to look at a sport utility vehicle in front of the J&J Flea Market on U.S. Highway 441, according to the Jackson County sheriff's office.

Man warns: Leave my 'old lady' alone
A Winder man contacted Barrow County sheriff's deputies Thursday after a man he didn't know called shortly after 2 a.m. and threatened to steal his car stereo and knock him out if he caught him talking to his "old lady" again.

Thieves strip wiring from house - again
A 67-year-old Pendergrass man returned to his vacant house on Old State Road last week and found that burglars had stripped it of about $2,000 in wiring, causing about $8,000 worth of damage, according to Jackson County deputies.

Burglars target flat-screen TV
Burglars kicked in the front door of a home in the 100 block of Cumberland Court between 8 a.m. and 7:25 p.m. Tuesday and stole a flat-screen TV valued at $2,000 and cell phones, Athens-Clarke police said.

SEC tries to put potshots aside
DESTIN, Fla. - A passerby had reason to wonder if the first sign of a thawing Southeastern Conference coaches cold war could be seen Tuesday morning in a hallway at the Hilton Sandestin.

Bulldog golfers tied for first after Day 1
TOLEDO, Ohio - Led by matching even-par 71s from Brian Harman and Russell Henley, top-ranked Georgia is tied atop the leaderboard after the first day of the NCAA men's golf championships.

Elton Dodson: McCarter was perceptive mentor
States McCarter, who died Monday, was a deeply passionate, caring leader and devoted Athenian. As an extraordinarily hard-working Athens-Clarke County commissioner, he inspired my service to our community.

Jeffrey E. Moss: Proposal for Barrow budget woes
A story in Friday's Banner-Herald, "Barrow facing a budget 'crisis,' " documents a problem that many communities are experiencing. County revenues have dropped from recent projections, mostly because of property tax loss and a significant drop in county licensing fees. Barrow County already has cut a lot of fat from the budget - commissioners have taken pay cuts, county services have been consolidated, and county employees have taken the brunt of the cuts with unpaid furloughs and reduced hours.

R. Thomas Trimble: Sotomayor ruling 'a racist act'
Federal appeals court Judge Sonia Sotomayor has been nominated by President Obama for a seat on the Supreme Court bench. She represents the epitome of the underdog who has overcome such impediments as minority status, poverty and diabetes. She achieved the American dream. She overcame all the obstacles to reach this major pinnacle for a lawyer in our society.

David Hofer: Secessionists aren't racists
I would like to dispel any myth that those advocating or supporting secession from the United States are racist opponents of President Obama. As a secessionist, I see no difference in the parties that rule in Washington. The members of Obama's administration are no different in their affiliations with the elite institutions and think tanks of this country than the previous wrecking-crew administrations.

Terry D. Adams: Learn lessons of Civil War
The Civil War has been over for 144 years, but its lessons still need to be learned today. Given the new talk of states' rights and secession, people need to know what the Civil War proved and history has shown, which is that a country needs a strong central government to survive.

Paul V. Hartman: Country's future is in real doubt
The final years of America now could be in single digits. This country's smooth-talking boy-president, without an identifiable skill, and trained at the feet of Marxists, is busy nationalizing industries and the banking system, firing business managers and telling Americans how much they can earn. The differences between Obama and Hugo Chavez already are blurred.

Robert Sharpe: There is middle ground on drugs
Regarding the recent Los Angeles Times editorial advocating an end to the current approach in the "war on drugs" and reprinted in Sunday's Banner-Herald: There is a middle ground between drug prohibition and blanket legalization.

Andy Totten: Standing strong for standards
In his Saturday column, Ed Tant suggested that Republicans need to adopt a "moderate-to-liberal stance" on issues such as gay rights and abortion in order to survive as a party.

Elmer Trumbull: Graduation tests aren't useful
Include me among those who believe Georgia's high school graduation tests are a needless cause of anxiety and expense. You can use a standardized exam to rank the members of a group who have studied some topic, and you will find out who has gained an average understanding, who is superior and who fell behind. But surely after a student has been in classes for 13 years of annual evaluations and exams, those things are already well known about individual students.

Each Magic Tree House book contains a new adventure to learn with
Whether they're fighting ninjas or riding on the back of a dolphin, this brother-sister team is always going on new adventures. In their neighborhood of Frog Creek, Jack and Annie find a tree house where they can make a wish to go anywhere, including back in time, and will magically appear there. As they do all kinds of new things, you learn with them!

Mudcats, Murphy to perform at library
The Madison County Library will close out its series of musical concerts for May with performances Friday from musicians whose stringed instruments will reign over the evening.

FFA officers reap awards
In March, each FFA chapter is required to turn in its Treasurer's, Reporter's and Secretary's books to the chapter office. The books are then judged against other FFA chapters in Area II.

Just can't stop the English Beat
Dave Wakeling has accomplished much in his life, but if you ever wind up sitting next to him on an airplane and inquire what he does for a living, he's got a succinct response.

Lewis: The ACTION 5!
These big, white cans are about as mod a pair of headphones as you likely are ever to find. But fear not, they sound as good as they look.

Random Sampling: 'Silence' is full of sound
"Modern Silence," the third and latest album from Athens' own Casper & the Cookies, is no quiet affair. Rather, it is a juggernaut of precisely recorded, crazy-fun pop rock, the purveyors of which are dangerously close to careening into full-blown silliness. Most likely, they'd have it no other way.

Thompkins to try out for USA U19 team
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Georgia coach Mark Fox spilled the beans at a lunch with reporters more than a week ago, but on Wednesday it became official that Georgia forward Trey Thompkins is among the 19-and-under basketball players who will attend the 2009 USA U19 National Team Trials.

Hispanic tapped for court
WASHINGTON - Reaching for history, President Obama on Tuesday chose federal appeals judge Sonia Sotomayor to be the first Hispanic justice on the Supreme Court, championing her as a compassionate, seasoned jurist whose against-the-odds life journey affirms the American dream.

Grocery facility to add jobs
Illinois-based grocery company Aldi Inc. will build a distribution center at the Dry Pond interchange of Interstate 85 and Georgia Highway 82 in Jefferson, a project that will add three dozen jobs to the local economy.

Athens' first black firefighter laid to rest
Athens firefighters said goodbye Wednesday to a groundbreaking former partner and mentor. Louis Ford Jr., who in 1968 became the city's first black firefighter, died Saturday at age 71. He was buried Wednesday afternoon in Athens Memory Gardens.

Crack puts a dealer in driver's seat
On average, a car a day is reported stolen in Athens-Clarke County. But police know that not all of those reports are from true victims who work hard to make payments only to find themselves one day robbed of an investment.

Oconee to cut; how deep?
Oconee County commissioners are searching ways to keep the current tax rate without taking too much from savings - and asking whether budget cuts would be worth the pain to employees and taxpayers.

Zinkhan searches revealing
Former University of Georgia professor George Zinkhan III apparently was preparing for divorce - recording his wife's conversations to argue she was unfaithful - but instead killed her and two other people outside the Athens Community Theater last month, according to recently released court records.

Oconee cutting, seeing if it hurts
WATKINSVILLE - Oconee County commissioners are searching for ways to keep the current tax rate without taking too much from savings - and asking whether budget cuts would be worth the pain to employees and taxpayers.

Counties agree on boat ramp rules
Leaders from Barrow, Clarke, Jackson and Oconee counties have agreed on rules and operating hours for a boat ramp at Bear Creek Reservoir set to open in August.

Barrow County can't join fuel group yet
WINDER—Barrow County can’t take part in the North Georgia Fuel Cooperative until the county has some place to store the fuel it would buy through the bulk-buying consortium, District 6 Commissioner Ben Hendrix told fellow commissioners Tuesday.

Man gets life in minister's slaying
A White County judge sentenced a 21-year-old man to life in prison Tuesday for killing a Northeast Georgia youth minister who picked up the man and his girlfriend while they were hitchhiking along U.S. Highway 129 last year.

A piece of Allen's to go public
An Athens doctor with a passion for the city's history plans to return the facade from Allen's World Famous Hamburgers to Prince Avenue, near where the famous Normaltown bar and grill stood for decades.

GBI searching for driver in second Ila bank robbery
Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents want to know who was driving a green car outside the Merchants & Farmers Bank in Ila on Friday afternoon, just as the bank was robbed for the second time this month.

Panel to hold forum on flu issues tonight
A new flu virus is not as deadly as health officials at first feared, but the so-called swine flu could still take a steep toll this winter, when flu infections historically peak.

Milledge recycling site closing Aug. 1
The Athens-Clarke recycling dropoff site in the Shoppes of South Athens, on South Milledge Avenue near Macon Highway, will close Aug. 1. The Athens-Clarke Recycling Division is looking for another area location.

Ballerinas rehearse 'Trip Around the World'
Delaney June, 3, left, gets distracted during the dress rehearsal for the "Trip Around the World" Freedom of Movement Dance Academy recital Wednesday at the Oconee County Civic Center. June's class represents the North Pole.

Barrow County can't join fuel group yet
WINDER - Barrow County can't take part in the North Georgia Fuel Cooperative until the county has someplace to store the gas and diesel fuel it would get through the bulk-buying consortium, Commissioner Ben Hendrix told fellow commission members Tuesday.

ABH Correction
An article published on Page E2 of Sunday's Living section gave the wrong date for the closing reception for an exhibit at Brick House Studio in Oglethorpe County. The reception will be 3-8 p.m. Sunday. Directions are at www.lamarwood.com..

School hosts cultural event
A North Oconee High School saxophone quartet comprising, from left, Lindsey Coleman, Seth Taylor, Hunter Hulsey and Ben Boskoff performed May 4 at Oconee County Elementary School's first Cultural Arts Night.

Editorial: McCarter was anything but a typical politician
He was elected to two terms on the Athens-Clarke County Commission from an Eastside district, after his role as president of the Cedar Creek Civic Association moved him into the public eye in a county zoning dispute regarding a buffer between the subdivision and a nearby apartment complex.

Editorial: It's time for leaders to rethink SPLOST
Athens-Clarke County officials may be engaging in a bit of wishful thinking if, as reported in a Tuesday story in this newspaper ("County swings for ideas on tennis center site,") they're looking to a continuation of the 1 percent special-purpose local-option sales tax two years from now to possibly bail them out of problems with funding a tennis center included in the current round of sales tax-funded projects.

Disappointing finish motivated Lee
Perhaps the best thing that ever happened to Yugene Lee's high school golf career came at the end of her sophomore season, when she failed to defend the Class AAA individual state championship she'd won as a freshman at Oconee County.

Junior assumes a new role
For much of her soccer career, Athens Academy's Emily O'Rear has played on teams where she was undoubtedly the youngest player on the field.

Pro potential for Warrior
Oconee County's Bradley Bugg remembers that while playing club soccer at age 13, he "got stuck in goal," and with only a few exceptions, he's been minding the nets ever since.

Crymes' value not limited to golfing abilities
Although Athens Academy had what might be considered a down year in boys golf, the Spartans once again laid claim to the Region 8-A title, thus qualifying for a return to the Class A state tournament.

Local baseball players named to 8-AAAA team
Local schools are well represented on the Region 8-AAAA baseball team, which was released on Tuesday. Five Athens-area players were named first-team all-region, with 10 players named to the second team - including one player honored as an outfielder and pitcher - and one player received an honorable mention.

1312 Hedgerow Lane
Buyers seeking exceptional value on new construction in Oconee County must see the Village Homes at Meadow Springs.

Big, colorful flowers aren't that hard to grow
If you're a first time homeowner, listen up. If you think you can't grow fabulous flowers, read on. If past failures have made you throw your hands up and retreat from gardening in general, get ready to rumble. There's a secret to great big bold flowers.

1520 Cleveland Road
Homeowners wanting a woodland retreat loaded with amenities and only minutes from shopping and dining in Athens must see this custom-built Lindal cedar home beautifully situated on 19 acres.

1100 Rowan Oak Circle
For exceptional value in luxury living, look no further than this five-bedroom beauty located in the exclusive Rowan Oak swim/tennis community.

No-maintenance living in Oconee County
Oconee County's serene Triple Creek neighborhood features the best in beautifully finished patio homes. Beautiful brick and hardiplank exteriors partnered with full landscaping services make Triple Creek the low-maintenance living option that you've been looking for.

Hardwood floors throughout!
Buyers looking for exceptional value on a spacious brick home with hardwood floors throughout will love this four-bedroom home located in the Olde Lexington Gardens neighborhood of eastside Athens.

150-year-old home with daylight apartment!
Located on the edge of downtown and only three blocks from The University of Georgia, this 150-year-old home on Finley Street is the perfect fit for buyers seeking an authentic Athens experience.

1151 Oconee Crossing Circle
Buyers looking for spacious living in an upscale Oconee County swimming community will love this immaculate home in Oconee Crossing.

Blackmon Shoals "Your Hometown Village"
Priced from the $160's, the homes at Blackmon Shoals represent a buyer's best value in quality construction with a premium location. Buyer's incentives on seven available homes mean even more for your money.

1151 Rocky Branch Farm Drive
Buyers looking for spacious living in an upscale Oconee County neighborhood will love this five-bedroom home with a finished basement that includes a full kitchen.

Hannah Heights
In the heart of the fastest growing area of Madison County is the area's newest subdivision, Hannah Heights. Drive out and take a look at these new "Everything Included" Craftsman-style homes.

Luxurious Southern-style living!
For buyers seeking a distinctive Southern lifestyle in a premier golfing community, this home in The Georgia Club’s North Hill neighborhood is a best bet.

PRICE CORRECTION
Susan Mosley's 1311 Victoria Road listing was incorrectly priced in the December 14th edition of HomeFront, located on page 12. The correct price is $289,900. We apologize for this misprint.

Local Real Estate Firms Announce Merger Plans
Athens, GA - Local real estate firms ERA Classic City Realty and ERA United Realty of Atlanta have announced plans to merge operations, effective January 21, 2009. The combined firm will conduct business as ERA United Realty with offices located in Athens, Roswell, Marietta, Tucker, Conyers and Newnan.

Athens Area Homeless Shelter 5th Annual Harvest for the Homeless
The Athens Area Homeless Shelter will hold its Fifth Annual Harvest for the Homeless tonight, Sunday November 23, 2008, at the Foundry Park Inn Ballroom from 5 pm until 7:30 pm. The evening's events include a Silent Auction, an Acoustic performance by The Modern Skirts, Hors d'oeuvres, Cash Bar and our Grand Prize drawing for 52 gift certificates to local restaurants!

Who Are the Seniors Real Estate Specialists®?
Elizabeth Thurmond has successfully completed the education program and has received the Seniors Real Estate Specialists® designation. SRES® are REALTORS® qualified to address the needs of home buyers and sellers age 50+.

Matt Thomas & Atlas Sponsor Holiday Food/Toy Drive
Matt Thomas, principal and licensed Realtor with Atlas Real Estate Advisors, is hosting a food/toy drive and pics with Santa at his holiday open house on Sunday December 14th from noon until 5pm at MadiSun Park Subdivision in Danielsville, GA.

Cindy Karp Realty Agents Attend GRI-1
Cindy Karp, the Broker of Cindy Karp Realty is proud to announce that John Morrison , Associate Broker and Jason Clemmons both completed GRI-1.Having earned that designation herself many years ago, she understands the importance of this program and actively supports the completion of this designation.

Athens Area Association of REALTORS® Sponsors Toy Drive
The Athens Area Association of REALTORS® (AAAR) is holding a Toy Drive through December 16, 2008 to benefit Toys For Tots. The Athens Area Association of REALTORS® has supported the Toys for Tots Program for many years.

Notebook: Lawrie wins with arm, not bat
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - Danielle Lawrie admitted she was aggravated by Georgia’s decision to walk her in Thursday’s opening game of the NCAA Women’s College World Series.

Predecessors played role in reaching first softball World Series
There's only one person associated with the Georgia softball program who has ever been to the Women's College World Series in an official capacity, and that's Lu Harris-Champer, who coached Southern Mississippi to college softball's biggest and most important stage.

Softball freshmen now key contributors
Coming into the 2009 college softball season with the youngest team in the country, Georgia coach Lu Harris-Champer knew she could count on two established seniors and five sophomores who exhibited potential in 2008.

Notebook: It's showtime for the Dogs
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - Sarah McCloud can't believe it has finally arrived. After practicing on the field at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium on Wednesday afternoon, the Georgia pitcher tried to put her experience at Georgia's first NCAA Women's College World Series into words.

NASCAR holds two town hall meetings
CONCORD, N.C. - NASCAR chairman Brian France held two town hall meetings Tuesday to discuss everything from the sport's toughened drug policy to the economy, competition and fan interest.

Notebook: Brady returns for practice
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Tom Brady practiced with the New England Patriots for the first time Tuesday since suffering a season-ending knee injury in last year's opening game.

Sharapova advances at French Open
PARIS - Maria Sharapova struggled again in her Grand Slam tournament comeback at the French Open, needing three sets and a few extra games to reach the third round with a 6-2, 1-6, 8-6 win over Nadia Petrova on Wednesday.

North Korea serious threat, expert warns
In the wake of new underground nuclear tests by North Korea, a University of Georgia expert on the Asian country warns that the Obama administration should take seriously the threat that the country will sell nuclear material and technology to terrorist groups or hostile nations.